TWICE:What are the new revenue opportunities for 2014 and beyond?
Eliott Peck, Canon: Canon, along with the entire imaging industry, must continue to evangelize the passion and emotion of photography. Life’s precious moments should not be trusted to the storage on a smartphone or social-media site. Opportunities exist to promote DSLR cameras and lenses, demonstrate what a beautiful photo looks like when printed, show the benefits of large image sensors, as well as cameras that shoot professional- looking HD video.
Masahiro Horie, Nikon: There is a growing market opportunity as consumers move toward interchangeable- lens cameras (ILCs), and this offers retailers the opportunity to introduce the consumer to more powerful lenses and system accessories for both DSLR and mirrorless camera segments.
Additionally, as more consumers are purchasing the more advanced performance and high-end compact cameras, the opportunity exists for retailers to offer consumers accessories for these products. For example, Nikon just released the SB-300 speedlight flash, which is a compact and portable companion to a DSLR or Advanced Performance Coolpix camera.
More than ever before, retailers also have the opportunity to educate and excite their customers. Informing them of new techniques and creative possibilities is an excellent tactic to drive sales of additional system accessories.
Jim Malcom, Ricoh: New revenue opportunities for the industry as well as for Ricoh Imaging lie in a few areas including the premium compact segment, which features DSLR-like controls and specifications inside a compact and portable body. There is a large opportunity for our dealers to sell new lens mounts into households using color as a trigger. By doing so the channel will reinvigorate the DSLR segment, producing lens and accessory sales to customers who otherwise may have not been considering adding to their equipment.
Products featuring specs with which the mobile phone cannot compete will also be a source of revenue in fiscal year 2014. For example, rugged capabilities like waterproofing, dust-proofing and shock-proofing are features that largely unaddressed by the mobile phone market. Finally, the largest area for revenue opportunities is in new and innovative products that help redefine consumer habits. As Ricoh Imaging enters 2014 we will do just that by introducing a new shooting style that will not only create new revenue opportunities but new photo opportunities as well.
Stefan Guelpen, Panasonic: For Lumix we continue to feel bullish about the mirrorless ILC category and its growth potential in the pro and prosumer segment. We also see moderate growth opportunities in specialty (larger sensor and fast lenses) P&S and the rugged camera category.
Scott Hardy, Polaroid: We are looking to expand on our products that fulfill a consumers specific need, for instance, our instant digital Zink cameras such as the Polaroid Z2300, adding more cameras to our sports action lineup, expanding the lenses on our interchangeable- lens Android-powered smart camera, and increasing the specs on our waterproof models.
Ron Gazzola, Samsung: Samsung is already considered the smart camera leader and as more and more consumers demand digital imaging products for a mobile lifestyle, we feel we are well positioned for continued growth. The prevalence of Android OS, and our recently announced Galaxy smartphones and tablets, will be a driving factor for our innovation, and through bundling and increased operability with these products, customers will enjoy a more robust feature set.
Mark Weir, Sony: We feel that new revenue opportunities can best be achieved by bringing innovative, bold new product concepts to market. For example, consider the effect on the compact camera segment caused by last year’s RX100/RX1 introduction, and the even more recent interest driven by this past July’s introduction of RX100 II/RX1R. Even in mature categories, compelling innovation is driving renewed customer demand.
Ben Arnold, The NPD Group: I think connectivity should be a focus going forward in both ILC and pointand- shoot. I think that can drive some interest to the market and appeal to mobile-only photographers.
